Girl's: H. Brian Landes Apple Blossom Invitational

Posted: April 29, 2013
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Heading into the meet concluding 4x400-meter relay, the situation for the Sherando girls’ track and field team wasn’t exactly ideal.

Because the Warriors trailed National Cathedral (D.C.) by 6.25 points, Sherando needed to finish either first or second while placing five spots ahead of the Eagles in that race.

National Cathedral chose not to run its fifth-seeded 4x400 team, but the Warriors couldn’t control that. What they could control was their own performance, and did they ever.

Sherando improved on its season-best time by nine seconds to take second place in 4:11.92, giving it the eight points it needed win the H. Brian Landes Apple Blossom Invitational for the second time in three years Saturday at Kelican Stadium.

The Warriors scored 75.75 points to edge National Cathedral’s 74 in the 19-team girls’ field.

Led by James “Doc” Casey Award winner for most outstanding female Lisa Meneau (the senior set meet records in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and anchored the winning 4x400 team), Handley tied for fourth with 32 points. Clarke County was sixth with 30.75 points, James Wood was ninth with 25 and Millbrook was 14th with 13.

Given that Williamsport ran a faster time (4:20.40) than Sherando did coming into Saturday in winning the second of three sections, the fourth-seeded Warriors knew the pressure was on, whether National Cathedral was running or not.

“We told them they had to run, and they responded,” said a laughing Grim.

Senior and anchor leg Nisha Moore said the Warriors 4x400 runners weren’t laughing when they realized what they had to do though.

“It kind of freaked us out at first, because we knew if we didn’t get it we would have let our whole team down for something we had worked hard for all day,” Moore said. “But we knew what times we each needed to run to be a regional qualifier (Sherando needed 4:13.87 as a team), and we did that.

“We got our minds set right, and as a team we just came together.”

After Candice Banks opened with a 64.6, Caitlin Dolan followed with a 63.5, then McKayla Jackson took the Warriors from third to first with a 62.9. Moore then ran a scorching 60.3, though the Warriors had to settle for second because of Meneau’s closing 58.6.

Grim was hardly surprised by the 4x400, or the team as a whole. Saturday was Sherando’s third large invitational win of the season, and it might have been its fourth if most of the Warriors didn’t leave early for prom last Saturday at Handley.

“We scored across the spectrum,” Grim said. “We’re scoring in the hurdles, we’re scoring in the throws, we’re scoring in the jumps. Overall I thought it was a really good effort from the whole team.”

Sherando seems to benefit greatly from competing against each other in practice. For example, one week after Laurel Morton won the triple jump at Handley, it was Angelique Matthews taking that event Saturday with a 32-11 ½.

“Everybody’s pushing each other all the time,” Grim said. “When you’ve got good people to work with, it’s a lot easier to do well.”

Other top performances for Sherando Saturday came from Alaina Combs (first in the discus, 108-4, third in the shot put, 33-8), Moore (second in the 400, 1:01.30), Matthews (second in the long jump, 15-4 ¾), Morton (third in the triple jump, 32-6 ¾), Banks (fourth in the 300 hurdles, 49.04), the 4x800 team (third in 9:59.94) and Michelle Baker (fourth in the high jump, 4-10).

After watching Meneau flat on her back on the Handley artificial turf and training table for several minutes last Saturday because of a hip injury, it would be natural to assume that she probably wouldn’t be ready to compete yet one week later.

Instead, at the conclusion of Saturday’s meet she was moving briskly down the Kelican Stadium’s steep hill while waving her arms over her head because of how excited she was to get the Casey Award.

Meneau definitely earned the plaque.

She began her day by running a 15.07 in the 100 hurdles (winning by 0.70), which broke the record of 15.1 held by three people, with Millbrook’s Schavon Springer the last to do so in 2008. (Springer was known as Hinds in 2008.)

Meneau — who was not able to compete in the 300 hurdles last year at the ABI because of an injury suffered in the 4x100 — then broke the 300 hurdles record of 45.2 set by former Judge Ayla Smith in 2006 with a time of 44.33 to win by 3.6 seconds over Millbrook’s McKenzie Schrank (47.93).

Running with Kiarra Myers, Abby Swartz and Miriah Smith, Meneau then helped the 4x400 team win in 4:11.91.

“It’s my first MVP award ever, so it means a lot,” said Meneau, who is running faster in both the 300 hurdles (state champ last year) and 100 hurdles (second in Group AA) than at this time last year.

Meneau — who said a trip to a chiropractor helped her out this week — said it was particularly meaningful to break state record-holder Smith’s record.

Meneau said she got to know Smith when she was training at Handley for the Olympic Trials last year in the 400 hurdles, and Smith helped Meneau with some training tips, too.

“I was so touched to meet her,” Meneau said. “She’s awesome, and she’s such a great athlete. She’s definitely my role model.”

Clarke County was led by Michelle Yates (first in the shot put, 35-4), Ammie Levi (third in the discus), Delia Condon (third in the high jump), Channing Alsberry (fourth in the 200) and Miles Crosby (fourth in the triple jump).

In a competitive 1,600, James Wood senior Amber Hawkins — who looked for a moment like she might get passed by a hard-charging Meggan Grams of Williamsport with 75 meters left — fought hard and pulled away in the last 15 meters to win by 0.58 seconds (5:08.73 to 5:09.31).

Hawkins got tripped with 225 meters left in the 800 and wound up taking third in 2:24.19, but given that her 1,600 time is 10 seconds faster than at this point last year, she was satisfied with her day.

“We’ve been doing some different things in practice to run when you’re tired, and I think that’s definitely been helping,” said Hawkins, who also said she got clipped a few times in the 1,600. “I think my times are going to start dropping from here, and hopefully I’ll be under five by states.”

The Colonels — who did not have high jump star Katie Houser because of a prior commitment — were also led by Noelle Schoeman (third in the 300 hurdles). James Wood’s entire team wore orange socks to support leukemia as part of cancer awareness.

For Millbrook, Schrank also placed fourth in the 100 hurdles.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.